Bahrain+(Courtney,+Sam,+Brittany)

=Challenges to Authority: Bahrain=

[[image:bahrain_map.jpeg width="265" height="332" align="right"]]
Demographics:
 * The median age for all people living in Bahrain is 30.9 years. The female population's median is 28.01 years, and for male it's 32.2 years.
 * The female to male ration in Bahrain is pretty much even, but with slightly more men living in the country than women.
 * The ethnicity of the citizens of Bahrain is 62.4% Bahraini, and the remaining 37.6% of the population in Bahrain is non-Bahraini. The religion of Bahrain is predominately Muslim (Shia and Sunni, 81.2%), but also has people of the Christian faith (9%).

Geography:
 * The land of Bahrain is mostly desert with varied plant and animal life. The winters in Bahrain are pleasant and mild, while the summers are harsh, hot, and humid. Desertification is occurring in Bahrain due to droughts and dust storms, so there are very little trees in Bahrain.
 * To see an interactive map of Bahrain visit this link: [|Interactive Map].

Economic Resources:
 * Imports for Bahrain are crude oil, machinery, and chemicals.
 * Exports for Bahrain are petroleum, petroleum products, aluminum, and textiles.
 * In 2005 unemployment rate for Bahrain was fifteen percent, while the US unemployment rate was averaging about five percent. Most Bahraini citizens have a job in industry (79%), but some have a job in services (20%) as well. There is only a small amount, one percent, of people have a job in agriculture.
 * The GDP for Bahrain in the year of 2010 was $28,920,000 . Bahrain is ranked at the spot of 109 while compared to other country's GDP. The GDP for the US in 2010 was $14,720,000,000,000; which was ranked as number two. This shows that the US has an economy that is much busier and more productive than that of Bahrain's.

Political Structure:
 * Bahrain's government is a[| constitutional monarchy]. This means that the country is ruled by a Monarch, or King, and a parliament. These people control the country and make decisions that they think will best benefit the country, that also follow the constitution. It also means that a family controls the executive branch of Bahrain's government.
 * Men in Bahrain are able to vote and always have been able to vote, but women just recently got the right to vote in 2002. You have to be at least twenty years old to vote in Bahrain.
 * The monarchy is hereditary and the monarch appoints the prime minister, but actual elections to decide who is on the parliament take place every four years.

Part II: History
-Because of the new Sunni power in the government, Shia became angry and no longer wanted to be involved in the election. -Because of the boycotted elections, the Shia were still mad about the government not changing to make the Sunni and the Shia both have equal power in government. They continued protesting against the government. -The protests by the Shia have become more violent and the Shia are becoming angrier about everything that is going on in the country. This is causing fights to break out during protests.
 * King Hamad promised to turn Bahrain into a monarchy, but in 2001 he reneged on his promise. Sunni then became powerful in the elected house because of the new appointed legislature.
 * The Shia boycotted elections in 2002.
 * Late 2009, the Shia around the country continue regular protests.
 * In February 2011, fights broke out between young protesters and heavily armed government forces in villages around the capital.

Part III: Legitimacy if the Current Leader and Government:
Overall Bahrain has a legitimate government, some things could be changed and improved on, but overall it is legitimate.
 * Protection of Rights: There is a constitution to protect people's rights and to let them know what they can and cannot do. People are allowed to petition and express their feelings as long as it follows this constitution.
 * Resolving Conflict: Bahrain has a High Civil Appeals Court, so a legitimate court system is present.
 * Providing Public Services: There are four airports in Bahrain and one heliport. The country also has railroads and such, so there is transportation available to the country's citizens.
 * Providing a Common Defense: Bahrain has a very large military that any male can enlist in at the age of fifteen.
 * Making Economic Decisions: King Hamad made economic decisions that he thought would benefit the country. He appointed new legislature and hired foreigners (who were Bahraini and Sunni) to work for jobs that would normally go to Shia.

Ranking:
 * 1) Providing a Common Defense because they have a large military and they protect their citizens.
 * 2) Resolving Conflict because they have a legitimate court system.
 * 3) Protecting rights because Bahrain does have a Constitution, but the Shia are given less freedom than the Sunni.
 * 4) Providing Public Services because they have transportation, but other than that there isn't that much other public services.
 * 5) Making Economic Decisions because King Hamad has make economic decisions, but they don't always benefit the country; they mostly benefit himself and whoever else he wants help.

Below video is a video discussing the country and protests of Bahrain.

media type="youtube" key="Y885K_1CJS4" height="390" width="480" align="center"

__**Who revolted?**__
The Shia population.

__**Why did the**____**y revolt?**__
The Shia population of Bahrain felt as if they were being deprived of jobs, housing, and infrastructure. They believed this was the only way because they felt the government favored the Sunni's and only paid attention to them.

__**How did they organize?**__
The revolution was planned, and the protesters chose February 14 because that was the day of the tenth anniversary of a referendum in favor of the National Action Charter of Bahrain. Everything about the protest was planned. The Shia's organized the protests. Technology such as Facebook and cellphones were used as well to help organize everything about the protest.

__**How did the people overthrow the government?**__
The people protested peacefully for the most part. Protesters took over the Manama Pearl Roundabout.

__**How did the government respond?**__
The police were described as being ruthless and unforgiving. They beat protesters and denied them medical attention that they needed.

__**How was the government the same or different following the revolution?**__
The revolution is still going on, and the government is mainly the same as it was before.

Citations:
BBC. "BBC News - Q&A: Bahrain Elections." // BBC - Homepage //. 24 Oct. 2010. Web. 05 Apr. 2011. . Central Intelligence Agency. "CIA - The World Factbook." // Welcome to the CIA Web Site — Central Intelligence Agency //. Web. 05 Apr. 2011. . United States Department of Labor. "Notice: Data Not Available: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics." // Databases, Tables & Calculators by Subject //. 06 Apr. 2011. Web. 06 Apr. 2011. . The Young Turks. "YouTube - Breakdown Of Bahrain Protests." // YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. // 17 Feb. 2011. Web. 06 Apr. 2011. . "**Bahrain**" //Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica Online School Edition//.  Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2011. Web. 6 Apr. 2011.  . 

===Websites That Were Used but Not Able to be Cited: === [|http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/bahrain/index.html?scp=1-spot&sq=bahrain&st=cse] [] http://socialstudies212.wikispaces.com/Global+Studies+HN

 

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